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Dolphin in Brazil helping with fishing illustration

Dolphins and fishers working together

Kidzone - quick links Fun Facts Curious kids Blogs Fantastic fundraisers Gallery Splish and Splash...
Gray whale (eschrichtius robustus) Gray whale in Ojo de liebre lagoon Baja California.

Why we’re walking for whales to save the world

We've got enormous ambitions when it comes to fighting climate breakdown, and so two members...
Dolphins with keepers in the new Windsor Safari Park. Image: PA Images/Alamy Stock Photo

Three decades on from UK’s last dolphin show, what needs to change?

The UK hasn't had captive whales and dolphins on display for 30 years, but it's...
Fishers' involvement is crucial. Image: WDC/JTF

When porpoises and people overlap

We're funding a project in Hong Kong that's working with fishing communities to help save...
Whale evolution cover

How did whales end up living in the ocean?

Kidzone - quick links Fun Facts Curious kids Blogs Fantastic fundraisers Gallery Splish and Splash...
Fishers chatting

Scottish fishers working with us to reduce risks to whales

Small changes to fishing gear could make a big difference to whales around Scotland, and...

Mindful conservation – why we need a new respect for nature

'We should look at whales and dolphins as the indigenous people of the seas -...
tins of whale meat

How Japan’s whaling industry is trying to convince people to eat whales

Japan's hunters kill hundreds of whales every year despite the fact that hardly anyone in...

US Government Shut Down also Puts Endangered Whales at Risk

The U.S. woke up this morning to news that the government was shutting down, furloughing all “non-essential” federal employees including those at NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), the agency which is charged protecting whales and dolphins. The NMFS is responsible for implementing both the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act with programs ranging from stranding response to implementing rules to reduce ship strikes and entanglements.

Already canceled are programs designed to protect North Atlantic right whales from ship strikes.  During the shutdown, no Dynamic Managed Areas will be declared to alert ships to the presence of right whales.  NOAA’s right whale Sightings Advisory System’s website, which posts sightings in near real time, has already been removed.  While the message on the site now reads “only web sites necessary to protect lives and property will be maintained”, these lives do not include those of protected marine mammal species.

About Regina Asmutis-silvia

Executive director - WDC North America